In this first issue of the new year, it was suggested to me by readers of WC&P’s sister publication that I write about our new magazine -- Agua Latinoamérica -- as the only mention of it in WC&P has been largely constrained to a full-page promotional advertisement. Agua Latinoamérica appears bimonthly in Spanish with select articles in Portuguese.

Well, here’s the scoop. At the AquaTech exhibition in Amsterdam in September 1999, we were approached by Robert Slovak about opportunities for such a publication in Brazil. Robert, co-founder of Water Factory Systems with his brother Jack and author of the WQA manual on reverse osmosis, has spent a lot of time in Brazil over the last five years. Through his company, Aroman Inc., Robert’s been doing consulting in the water treatment industry there and he’s invested in water treatment operations of Aqualar in São Paulo. He volunteered to serve as technical director.

WC&P publisher Kurt Peterson immediately saw the need for and logic in the ultimate success of such a magazine as Agua Latinoamérica. There really were no other Spanish or Portuguese publications of the caliber of WC&P serving the region as a whole. The need for such a publication was great, particularly considering alarming potable water and sanitation statistics from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). And the internationalization of WC&P in the last four years (i.e., expanded coverage of world water issues, our “International Focus” department and connections made from the “World Spotlight” column) positioned us to fulfill this need.

Enter Ingvi Kallen, Agua Latinoamérica's senior editor. Born of Swedish and American parents, she was raised and educated in Morelia, Michoacan, México—west of Mexico City. She comes to us from the Center for Educational Development in Tucson, where she was a media and publication specialist. She also coordinated an art and literary magazine for Pima Community College and worked at the Arizona-México Border Health Foundation. Not only does she help plan issues, edit articles and represent the magazine at trade shows (many of you may have already met her), she coordinates all translation for editorial and advertising purposes.

The next step was establishing a similar group of professional advisors, or Asesores, as the WC&P Technical Review Committee (the 2002 committee is introduced in this issue). This group is even more important for Agua Latinoamérica if only because they help ensure the technical merit of content and serve as stewards or “godparents” of the magazine in the countries they represent. As such, the first group of Asesores includes: Carlos Albicker, Ozono Polaris, Puebla, Mexico; Ernesto Castro, Osmonics Inc., Milwaukee, Wis.; Dr. Joseph Cotruvo, NSF International, Washington, D.C.; Dr. Manuel Alvarez Cuenca, Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto, Canada; Gerardo Galvis, PAHO; Fernando Guime, Aqua-Pro, Guayaquil, Ecuador; Bernhard Illge, Aguasin, Santiago de Chile; Carlos Lugo Sr., CWS-IV, LAWSCO, Mexico City; Juan José Mauricci, GAT S.r.l., Buenos Aires, Argentina; Horst Otterstetter, AIDIS, Itanhaem, Brazil; Elio Tarran, TechFilter, Indaiatuba, Brazil; and Andrew Warnes, Sta-Rite Industries, Delavan, Wis.

Not all of these advisors reside in Latin America, but they definitely have significant roots there. And the intention of the magazine, since its first issue in May/June 2001, has been to be a publication by and for Latin Americans. We have been overwhelmed by the public response at shows we’ve attended, including WEFTEC Latin America in Puerto Rico, the IV Inter-American Dialogue on Water Management and Aquatech/Fitma in Brazil, and Expo Tecno Agua in Mexico City. It has been encouraging to see the need for such an endeavor recognized and supported by water treatment professionals in the region. We only hope we can continue to live up to expectations as Agua Latinoamérica grows. Spanish or Portuguese speakers of WC&P unfamiliar with the magazine should visit our website: www.agualatinoamerica.com